‘Tis the season...

PIERRE — While local residents may still be reveling in the balmy 70-degree temperatures of late fall, a not-so-nice part of winter is steadily approaching — flu season.

The exact dates of the flu season vary, South Dakota Urban Indian Health Pierre clinic manager Tami Hogie explained. But the highest number of influenza-infected people is typically seen from November through March. To safeguard themselves from contracting the virus, health care officials recommend people have their flu shots between October and January.

The flu is a contagious disease caused by the influenza virus. Anyone can get influenza, but the rates of infection are the highest among children, according to the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last flu season, 45 percent of South Dakota’s influenza cases were children 18 years of age and younger,  according to a release from the state Department of Health.   Twenty percent of flu-related hospitalizations were children age 9 and younger.

Again this year the state will offer free flu vaccine for children from 6 months old through 18 years old. The state launched the campaign during last year’s flu season, vaccinating more than 72,000 children — 300 percent more than the previous year, according to a Department of Health release.

Vaccine clinics will be held in October and November, or parents can contact private medical clinics or the department’s local community health offices to get their children vaccinated, according to the release. While the vaccine is free, providers may charge an administration fee.

A list of vaccine providers can be found at http://doh.sd.gov/LocalOffices/Vaccine.aspx.

In addition to children, other groups of people at high risk for contracting the flu include older individuals, pregnant women and individuals with chronic illnesses or other medical conditions that predispose them to illness, according to the department.

“Their immunity is lower, and that puts them at a greater risk,” Hogie said.

To stop the spread of the flu, people should wash their hands often with soap and water and cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze, according to the department.

Those who are sick should stay home from school or work, Hogie said.

“Protect yourself, protect your family, protect those in your house,” she said. “We’re in a very mobile society and we’re constantly on the go.

Influenza is an illness that can rapidly be spread so we definitely encourage everyone to get a flu shot.”

For children younger than 9 who will receive their flu shots for the first time should get two, smaller doses of vaccine, according to the CDC.

Also, people who have had reactions to the vaccine in the past or have a severe egg allergy should not get the vaccine, Hogie said.

The viruses in flu shots are inactivated, or killed, so people cannot get influenza from a shot, according to the CDC. But some people may experience a low-grade fever; aches; or soreness, redness or swelling where the shot was given. The side effects should only last one to two days.

The flu shots may not protect against all types of influenza viruses.

Scientists research which strains of flu virus are likely to be the most prominent in the next year and then make the vaccines based on that information, Hogie said.

In addition to the flu shot vaccine, there is also a nasal spray vaccine which contains live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu.

Children who receive the spray vaccine may develop a runny nose, wheezing, a headache, vomiting, muscle aches or a fever as side effects of the mist. Adults may develop a runny nose, sore throat, headache or cough.

For more information on the flu, visit the CDC’s online information sheet at www.cdc.gov/flu.

Influenza symptoms

• Fever

• Sore throat

• Cough

• Chills

• Headache

• Fatigue

• Muscle aches